Clinton Township grandmother on trial, accused of drowning grandson

The murder trial of a Clinton Township grandmother accused of drowning her 4-year-old grandson is on track after four false starts.

Terry Borgia, 63, will go on trial Wednesday on a charge of first-degree, premeditated murder in the death of DeAngelo Tobia in January 2010 in an apartment bathtub.

Prosecuting and defense attorneys chose a jury Tuesday and are scheduled to make opening statements Wednesday afternoon in front of Judge Peter J. Maceroni in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

The case has meandered for nearly three years with several twists and turns.

A trial was set to go three times and a trial actually started a fourth time last June, and a sentencing was scheduled once last winter.

But proceedings have stalled for various reasons.

The case has baffled Borgia's family, including the mother of the victim, because, "There is no motive in the case," Cataldo said.

The only explanation Borgia has offered was financial stress, when she was pressed by one of her daughters, Vicky, during a jailhouse visit.

She told a detective she "snapped" but also that it was an accident. Those statements, however, has been tossed.

At least one of her daughters believes that Borgia did not commit murder.

Cataldo contends that Borgia filled the bathtub with water, carried the sleeping boy from a couch to the tub and held him under.

Borgia's defense attorney, Mark Haddad, is expected to contend that Borgia is covering up for one of her daughters, Tonina Borgia, the boy's aunt, the only other person in the apartment at the time.

Tonina Borgia more than a year after the incident made bizarre statements to a Clinton Township police detective, saying she "must have" killed the boy because her mother could not have done it.

But Tonina Borgia has experienced mental issues, and Cataldo will contend she was "having an episode," he said.

An August trial date was delayed because Tonina Borgia shortly before was arrested twice within eight days in Macomb Township on minor charges following unusual behavior. She was taken to a mental facility.

She was scheduled to testify in the coming trial.

The trial - expected to last less than a week -- was most recently delayed because Vicky Borgia was ill. Vicky Borgia is expected to testify regarding her conversations with her mother.

The trial will feature eight witnesses and a recording of Tonina Borgia's 911 call to police.

The case had progressed beyond opening statements last June, but Maceroni declared a mistrial due to questions over the legality of Borgia's interview with township police Detective William Furno in her cell at the Macomb County Jail. Questions arose over Furno's pretense for gaining access, and Borgia's statements were ruled inadmissible by Maceroni.

Despite the loss of the statements, Cataldo remains confident in the case, noting Borgia made incriminating statements to other authorities as well as Vicky Borgia that can be used against her. She also showed bruises on her arms.

After Borgia's arrest, she was initially deemed to be incompetent to stand trial and sent to a state mental health facility, where she regained competency.

Last February, another time a trial was supposed to start, she pleaded no contest to first-degree murder, punishable by life in prison without parole. But a month later, she withdrew the plea.